LIV Golf throws a hissy fit over OWGR decision

Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

LIV Golf throws a hissy fit over Official World Golf Ranking decision

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Feb 3, 2026 4:46 PM ET

After four years of negotiating and begging, LIV Golf finally got its wish on Tuesday when the Official World Golf Ranking announced it will award the Saudi-backed league with world ranking points for the 2026 season. Sounds like a big win, right? Well, not according to LIV.

After the OWGR announced that the top-10 finishers (plus ties) in all LIV Golf individual stroke play events will receive world ranking points, the entitled golf league immediately released a statement condemning the details of the ruling.

"This outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage — precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize."

So, LIV Golf earns world ranking accreditation after a four-year saga of failing to comply with the parameters set by OWGR, and it still finds a way to complain. If the rival golf league wants to create a more robust pathway to world ranking points, this isn't the way to go about it.

LIV Golf should be grateful for the OWGR's decision

LIV Golf statement on OWGR decision pic.twitter.com/YUuWQ2wAvU
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 3, 2026

The OWGR has been hesitant to award LIV Golf world ranking points because the tour hasn't operated as a true meritocracy. LIV improved in that regard by introducing promotions and relegations and switching from 54 to 72 holes, but it still fails to provide a truly meritocratic system.

That's why this section of its public statement was so amusing:

"We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally."

If that were true, then why are team captains able to hand-pick players for their teams instead of letting player performance decide who deserves to compete on LIV? Why was Jinichiro Kozuma, who finished 32nd in the LIV Golf standings last year (17 spots ahead of the Drop Zone), dumped from the league to make room for an all-Korean team?

LIV is lucky to earn OWGR points for 10 spots in a 57-man league with no cut. Its reaction to the news just proves how juvenile and querulous the league is four years in.

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

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